Although she tried her best to stop herself, Hermione let out an audible gasp at the sight of the patient. Mrs. Penrose, presenting with a "mild" case of dragon pox had green-tinted skin and bright red pustules all over her body. After seeing the effects of dragon pox in person, Hermione made a mental note to stay away from all dragons, and Charlie Weasley too just in case.
"Hello Mrs. Penrose!" said Lucy in her cheerful manner seemingly unbothered by her grotesque appearance, "How are you feeling today?"
"I'm doing alright I suppose. The potion you gave me last night seemed to help a bit with these spots." said the green Mrs. Penrose in a raspy voice.
"That is excellent news!" exclaimed Lucy, "I have with me two interns who are observing today, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, they are studying to become healers." Lucy gestured to Hermione and Malfoy who both gave Mrs. Penrose a small nod. Hermione looked at Malfoy who also seemed a bit nauseated.
"Hermione, Draco, don't be shy. Come closer so we can examine Mrs. Penrose." said Lucy, waving them closer. Hermione and Malfoy reluctantly stepped closer to the patient, and Lucy explained the typical presentation of the dragon pox and the treatment for it. Hermione had read about dragon pox extensively but had never seen a case up close.
"Excuse me," interrupted Mrs. Penrose as Lucy explained the differences in dragon pox pustules, "Will Albert, my husband be alright? I haven't seen him in a week since I got these marks, will he get sick too?"
"Your husband should be fine. Dragon pox is only contagious once symptoms appear, as long as he stayed away from you when you first noticed the symptoms he won't catch it."
"Excuse me, Lucy" said Malfoy politely, "I've heard there are other strains of dragon pox that are more contagious, is that true?"
"Theoretically yes, but I've never seen any here. Perhaps there could be other strains of dragon pox in areas with a high dragon population, like Romania." replied Lucy.
"What would make a strain more or less contagious?" asked Malfoy. Hermione eyed him suspiciously. Why was he asking that?
"Well, let's see. A strain of dragon pox that could pass from wizard to wizard before the pustules appear would be much more contagious because we would not know who has it, so it would pass rather quickly undetected." said Lucy.
"How terrible!" exclaimed Mrs. Penrose.
"You don't have to worry about that!" said Lucy, smiling. "I think we are all done here, you're well on your way to making a full recovery, I'll check in on you tomorrow!"
Hermione and Malfoy followed Lucy out of Mrs. Penrose's room and to the next patient. The next patient suffered from vanishing sickness, and the one after that had spattergroit. Lucy lead them to each patient's room, and cheerfully explained each horrible illnesses in great detail. Hermione noticed that no matter how gruesome the patient looked, Lucy was always smiling and relaxed, and she figured a healer like Lucy must be a great comfort to the patients. They were two hours into their practicum when Lucy announced that it was time for a dinner break and invited Hermione and Malfoy to join her in St. Mungo's cafeteria.
The cafeteria of the hospital was located on the third floor, and since apparition was out of the question, they rode the St. Mungo's elevator up. The cafeteria was large and bright, and had food stations set up along the perimeter and round wooden tables in the middle. Hundreds of house elves were serving healers and visitors to the hospital. Hermione made a mental note to ask if the house elves were compensated for their work. The smell of food however overwhelmed Hermione, as she realized just how hungry she was.
"You two get that table over there," said Lucy, pointing to a free table "And I'll get our food." Before Hermione could protest, Lucy had disappeared and she was left alone with Malfoy. Silently, they walked over to the table and sat down. They sat for a few moments in silence, Malfoy doing his best to ignore her presence, but Hermione remembered Harry's words to her. Harry had asked her to be polite to Malfoy, to try to figure out why he was there. But what was she supposed to say to him?
"So," started Hermione awkwardly and Malfoy looked up at her. Hermione froze and lost her train of thought. Had his eyes always been that grey? What an odd eye colour. She blinked. She had to find out what he was up to. Harry said to be polite. What could she talk about, the weather? Why was he still looking at her?
"Why are you here? Why are you in the intern program?" she blurted out.
"I don't know Granger, why do people join the intern program at St. Mungo's?" he said coldly.
"You want to be a healer?" she asked.
"Well spotted Granger! Brightest witch of her age!" jeered Malfoy.
"But...why? Why would you want to be a healer? You're a Death Eater!" she sputtered.
"A former Death Eater." he corrected her, smiling.
"There is no such thing as a former Death Eater." she snapped. "Do you still have the mark under there?" She looked down at his left forearm. It was covered by his sleeves but Malfoy instinctively pulled his orange robes down further on his arm.
"If you want to see what's under these robes you'll have to be a bit nicer to me Granger." he snapped.
"I've got your food!" said Lucy, as she waved her wand directing three trays to land softly on their table. They began eating their dinners but Hermione's brain was in overdrive. She had an idea about what Malfoy might be up to at St. Mungo's, but she hoped she was wrong. But she knew one thing for certain, Malfoy was not there to become a healer.