House went to see the places to let in Hogsmeade, finding one that would suit his needs and his budget. It was cozy and fully furnished in a nice masculine style. It would do very well. He signed the agreement and paid the first month's rent and security, accepting the keys and password for the wards. After testing that he could work them, finding that he could, he headed back to the Leaky Cauldron, nervously calling out the destination on his first solo floo trip.
Tom greeted him with a smile when he arrived by floo and poured him a firewhiskey to celebrate. "Well done, you even arrived mostly standing! Most people fall for the first several times," he confided when House chuckled. "Did you get the position?"
"Yes, I did," House answered, clinking his glass with Tom as the bartender smiled happily for him. "I've got to cram in studying about wizards, learning basic magic and basic healing between now and September 1st but I'm happy with that. And I rented a flat in Hogsmeade, so I'll be checking out tomorrow."
"I'm sorry to see you go, but very happy that you found a place for yourself so quickly," Tom said sincerely. House chatted with him and a couple other regulars until dinner then retired to his room to pack up and read.
The next morning found him sitting in a waiting room at St. Mungo's again, nervous about his appointment with Healer Collingsworth. He tried to quash any hopes that the wizards might be able to do what doctors had not, knowing it was an old injury and with the muscle missing and nerves damaged, not much was likely to change. Still, he'd spent one of the best weeks in years on the potions from Healer Davis, pain greatly reduced, able to sleep, and feeling generally healthier.
"Mr. House," the nurse called and led him into the exam room. He got into the examining gown and waited. Collingsworth was only a minute or two behind her.
"Good morning, Mr. House," Collingsworth said gruffly, cocking his head to the side and assessing the man. "I've read your file from Healer Davis. Muggles butchered you up pretty bad."
"Yeah, they did. I'm not holding out a lot of hope for any change, but the potions that Davis put me on made a big change in pain levels for me."
"Were you not on pain medicine before?"
"Yeah, but in order to be pain free I had to sacrifice clear thinking. Didn't go with being a doctor."
"Ah. So how much pain were you in before compared to this week on the potions?"
"On a scale of 0 to 10, bad days were a 7, good days a 4, and an occasional 9 or 10 about every six to eight weeks. This week on the potions, I've been at a pretty steady 2. Plus, I've been able to sleep without waking up in spasms."
"Good. Let's see what can be done to continue that trend." Collingsworth did a thorough exam on him even by House's standards. He'd done wizard equivalent of MRI scans, blood work, range of motion tests, observed his gait and carefully felt the entire damaged area, including the strained knee joint.
Finally, House was redressed and seated in Collingsworth's office to talk about the results. "First of all, you would do well to wear a brace, especially now that you'll be working at Hogwarts. I'll have you continue on the potions that Davis put you on, since they are working so well. I want you to continue the nutrient potion for two more weeks and the sleep aid as well. You can become dependent on them and I don't think you'll need them as much once your body isn't under so much pain stress anymore."
"I'm having a brace made for you. It should be ready for pick up in three or four days. I'll send you an owl and let you know when it's ready. I do think I may be able to affect the actual damage done, but how much is unclear and there are some risks so I want you to read up on it and think about it. We can talk more about it when you come back to get the brace fitted. Basically, though, I'll give you a series of limited action potions which may allow some amount of tissue regeneration. Again with the length of time passed, you won't ever get it all back, but some regrowth is possible. The upside to regrowth is a more muscle in your thigh and regenerated nerve endings that could make for a bit easier motion and gait. The downside is that those nerve endings may end up sending out more pain and burning than you've already been experiencing."
House grimaced at the thought of going through this only to have more pain than he already had. "I don't know, the upside would have to be awfully good to risk that."
"That's why I'm cautioning you to consider it. It's not impossible but improbable. I think I can help you slightly with the magical brace and potions adjustments but beyond that the decision would be yours to make."
"I'll go the safer route for now. Another couple of months won't mean much in the grander scheme of things will it?"
"No, not at all, unless you have another event."
"Right. Let's table that option for now then. What's so magical about this brace?"
"It reacts with your own nerves and muscles and fills in support where it's needed, rather than just being a rigid support. It should keep your muscles from getting strained too much in the first place, which should contribute to lower pain levels after a time."
"Great. That's what I hoped to hear at the very least. I put my new address on the file there, so you can contact me when the brace is ready. I'm moving into my new flat tonight." House said standing as the healer did.
"Excellent. Good luck in your new job."
After returning from St. Mungo's, House was seated next to the fireplace in his new flat, reading one of several books that had been sent by Minerva. This was The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One that the first year students were issued. He'd bought an owl, which was snoozing on a perch near the window, and on a whim he'd also bought a cat that was curled up on his lap. Pitch black with green eyes and beautiful long hair, she was a beauty. He'd decided to call her Thirteen. He sent his new owl to Minerva, letting her know that he was at his flat and the results of his healer's appointment. She'd responded encouragingly and asked him to walk up the road to meet Professor Flitwick at the gates of Hogwarts tomorrow afternoon, as she wanted the protection wards to recognize him. Filius had also agreed to give him a basic lesson on charms to help him learn to use his new wand at the same time.
The next morning he left early so that he could walk as slowly as he needed to arrive at Hogwarts gates without too much stress on his leg. He was still in awe of the castle and the idea of working there and so stood gazing up at it, not realizing when Filius arrived until he heard a throat clearing.
"Good morning, Professor House," Filius said with a smile.
"Good morning, Professor Flitwick," House answered, straightening up from gawking at the castle.
"Well, first things first, we need to have Hogwarts' wards recognize you as one of the staff," Filius said, raising his wand and muttering an incantation. "Now, touch your wand to the fence and hold it there."
House did so and was surprised to feel the magic surging through the connection, feeling as though he was being examined from the inside out, before it dissipated.
"Excellent, now let's see that it's taken. Take a couple of steps back, then approach the gate again with your wand out," Filius instructed him. This time the gates opened at once to his wand and approach.
"So now the wards will let me in?" he asked, joining Filius on the other side of the fence.
"Most definitely. It's vital that all of the teachers are recognized by the wards and able to pass the students through quickly when need arises. Now, Minerva explained your situation to me last evening. I must admit, I have never heard of a muggleborn wizard who decided to join our community so late in life."
"Hey, I'm not ancient here," House growled.
"No, certainly not," Filius responded. "Still, most join at 11 years old, so I'll try you out with a couple of simple charms that I start the first years with, all right?"
"Sure. I read through year one of Standard Book of Spells last night."
"My, my, so much like Miss Granger. I wonder which house you would be sorted into," Filius said with a chuckle. "Let's start with levitation, as it is a skill needed for a great many spells."
Filius coached him on the proper pronunciation of the spell and practiced smoothing his wand movements, as House was using his non-dominant hand. Finally he put out a feather and nodded to House to proceed.
"Remember now, intention and visualizing what you want to happen are just as important as the proper pronunciation and movement. Go to it then."
House nodded, taking a moment to look at the feather and pictured it floating up from the ground to waft around in the air before pointing his wand and saying the spell. Much to his amazement and Filius' delight, the feather rose and hovered obediently in the air.
Filius was both surprised and pleased at how quickly House was able to retain wand motion and pronunciation and able to work the charm. He sought out Minerva after sending House home to continue his studies and practice the charms they had worked on.
"Filius," Minerva said with a nod. "How did the lessons go?"
"Exceedingly well," Filius exuded as he took a seat nearby. "I have to wonder if he's as low magical as he's been told. He had to work harder to practice smooth movements to use his non-dominant hand with his wand than he did to actually work the spells. I held him to three today, wingardium leviosa, lumos/nox, and reparo, but I'm certain he will go forward and learn more on his own. He reminds me in that way of Miss Granger. He's read the entire grade one spell book you sent him already."
Minerva was impressed but chuckled at the reference to Miss Granger. "Well, he has a great deal to learn in a very short time if he wishes to have young pureblood wizards give him any respect this fall. I am surprised that he was never picked up for Wizarding School if he does have more magic than he was told. Why was he not flagged as a muggle born?"
"He did say that his father was in the military and the family moved 2 to 3 times a year," Filius remarked. "Maybe that was enough to keep him jumping from one magic school to another's jurisdiction to let him slip through the cracks."
"Well, that could be," Minerva agreed thoughtfully. "If that is the case he could very quickly become quite proficient in magic. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what he can accomplish this summer."
