Chapter 12
Visiting St. Mungo's

Dumbledore allowed Harry to visit Oliver Wood in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries two weeks after the Gryffindor Quidditch match. "Oliver has to recover his strength before he can afford visitors," the headmaster had told Harry. Katie Bell went to St. Mungo's with Harry.

"How do you think he's doing?" Katie asked Harry as they walked through the hallways of St. Mungo's.

"OK. He's probably been bugging his doctors and nurses to release him so he can play Quidditch again sometime soon. Oliver isn't one to stay put for very long."

They approached a rather short queue and lined up to ask the receptionist where to go. As they approached the front of the line, the receptionist proved to be an older, but still curt witch. She looked rather harassed and irritated, but kept her temper all the same. Soon, Harry and Katie were at the front of the line. "Hello, we're here to see Oliver Wood."

"Ah, yes, Wood's on the fourth floor in the temporary wing. Ward number eighty-five."

"Thank you," both Harry and Katie replied as they walked towards the steps to go up to the fourth floor.

* * *

They entered the temporary wing and immediately heard arguing. "Why can't I leave already?! I'm healthy enough! See? I'm running around the room right now."

"Now, Mr. Wood, you know your Healer told you not to run or do anything strenuous for at least three weeks..."

"Well, who cares what he says? I want to get out of here!"

"Mr. Wood, please don't make me call your Healer."

"Go ahead! Maybe he can get me out of this place!"

A nurse appeared at the door of one of the wards. Her appearance was one of distraught. "Excuse me," Katie said, "is that where Oliver Wood is residing at the moment?"

The nurse turned towards Katie and Harry. "I'm afraid so. Are you relatives?"

"No, we're just friends of his."

"Watch out. He may be injured, but he's still as feisty as ever." She walked towards the end of the corridor where she turned a corner and walked out of sight.

Katie and Harry walked into the room. Wood sat on the first bed, deep in thought. Although the rest of the ward could hold three more people, the other beds were empty.

"Hi, Oliver," Harry said. Looking up to see who was there, Wood's face lit up.

"Harry! Katie! How great it is to see you!" he exclaimed, jumping up from the bed and putting an arm around each of their shoulders. "How's Quidditch at Hogwarts?"

"It's great. We won our first match two weeks ago."

"That's wonderful! Who's captain?"

"I am."

"I knew you had it in you, Harry!" Wood winked at his previous teammate and then sat back down on the bed. "Well, why are you two still standing? Sit down! We have a lot of talk about. So, I suppose Slytherin has played their match already as well?"

"Yes."

"And the outcome...?"

"Slytherin won by two hundred and fifty points," Harry said, his face falling.

"Too bad. Who did they play?"

"Hufflepuff."

"The captains for both teams?"

"Justin Finch-Fletchley for Hufflepuff and Draco Malfoy for Slytherin."

"So you played Ravenclaw."

"Yes."

"Roger Davies is gone now. Who's their captain?"

"Cho Chang."

"She always has been a great Quidditch player. I figured she'd take the helm after Davies left. I suppose they had quite a hole after last year..."

"We're not here only to talk about Quidditch you know," Katie said, interrupting Harry and Oliver's dissection of the Hogwarts Quidditch program. "So Oliver, how are you holding up?"

"Pretty well. I want to get out of here, though."

"So we heard," Harry said, grinning.

"What?"

"We walked into the wing and heard your little fit," Katie added, giggling.

"You heard that?"

"Yup. I don't know who couldn't hear it."

Wood sighed, leaned back on the gigantic stack of pillows behind his head, and stretched his legs out in front of him. "I know that I'm healthy enough to jump on my broomstick and play Quidditch again, but evidently the Healers don't," he said, disgusted.

"Well, you were attacked by one of Voldemort's supporters," Harry said. As of late, he had noticed that the familiar shiver that usually went through the people around him when he uttered the Dark Lord's name had vanished.

"Almost everyone in this hospital here have had some sort of encounter with Voldemort and his supporters," Wood said. "The Aurors have top priority, of course, so when they come in injured about five Healers work with them at once. You guys have heard about the recent attacks, specifically on Aurors?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's getting worse. No one is safe anymore. Voldemort's support system just seems to be getting bigger and bigger. I, for one, didn't expect him or any of his supporters to come near a Quidditch pitch; it would be too risky for them getting caught. Well, we all know that changed." Wood sank back farther into his pillows.

"Oliver, did they catch the Death Eaters who attacked you?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, about five of them. They don't care if they Aurors catch them anymore, though. Don't know why, but Voldemort's supporters have gotten more and more reckless."

"The dementors are on his side now," Harry said hollowly.

"What was that?"

"The Minister of Magic refused to take the dementors out of Azkaban, even though Dumbledore told him to. Instead, Voldemort bribed them to join his side. Voldemort had more to offer than the Ministry of Magic, so they allied with him and his Death Eaters. The dementors were the only guards to Azkaban, so with them gone the prisoners have been free to come and go as they pleased. It is now almost impossible to keep control over the prison. Cornelius Fudge has led us into a lose-lose situation."

"How do you know all of this, Harry?" Oliver asked, sitting up, intrigued.

"Haven't you heard yet, Oliver?" Katie asked him. "Harry's training to become an Auror."

"Are you really?"

"Well, no one is supposed to know about it, but yes, I'm in training."

"Don't you have to have graduated from school before you begin training?"

"I have a special case."

"And what might that be?"

Harry found himself explaining everything: the prophecy, the training, Tonks, his N.E.W.T. classes, late nights spent studying, everything. Neither Katie nor Oliver talked at all during Harry's spiel. He found it relieving to tell them all about his experiences. A great burden took itself off his mind. Whenever he talked to Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, or Tonks about his schedule, the prophecy, or his training, he always felt that more weight piled itself onto his shoulders. Talking to people who wouldn't tell him that the fate of the whole world rests in his hands was refreshing.

When he finished, Oliver and Katie sat in awe. "Wow, Harry, I had no idea you had all of this stuff going on," Katie said. "Plus you're Quidditch captain to boot. I'm impressed."

Wood whistled. "Well, Potter, you're busy, but I'm sure you can handle it. You always have been able to do those kinds of remarkable things." Oliver smiled encouragingly and again winked at Harry.