Hi everyone! I'm posting this a bit sooner than I was going to because I'm going away for the next week so enjoy and review!
Disclaimer – I don't own anything – unfortunately
New Beginnings
Sitting on the plane, Hermione let her mind wander over the events of the last few days. She had decided to travel by muggle transport so she could read up a little on the subjects she would be covering, miss-use of magic, curses and jinxes, memory charms and the background to the clinical trials, which were taking place.
Unfortunately her mind just wasn't on reading, thinking back she could still see the emptiness of her flat after everything had been packed, the fair-well party that the Weasley's gave her and the evil glares she received at work from the other exchange applicants. Ignoring all of these though, her mind focused on the goodbyes at the airport, Harry and Ginny had insisted on seeing her off at the terminal gate. It had been horrible, all three of them were crying and Hermione at one point was about to cancel the whole thing and return to work, Harry however was quick to talk her out of it.
So now she found herself somewhere over Africa, looking out of the window onto the cloud cover below, falling into a dreamless sleep. She was suddenly woken by the Pilot speaking over the tanoy system, instructing them to remain seated and strapped in while they land, had she really been asleep for over 4 hours?
Melbourne seemed a nice city, everyone was so laid back and seemed to have a smile on their faces. Hermione felt at home whilst walking the short distance from the airport to her new flat, which the hospital had organised for her, the sun was high in the sky and she could feel its warmth spreading right through her.
Her flat was situated a short bus ride away from the hospital, but obviously apparation was her first travel choice. It was quite roomy for just the one person; it had a large lounge area with all the muggle equipment as well as the Wizarding world's latest mod cons. The Kitchen was quite homely and somehow reminded her of the Weasley's kitchen at the Burrow. Her bedroom was decorated in a nice lilac shade with sky blue curtains, bed covers etc; it gave the room a resting aura. The bathroom was along the hallway and situated next to the study, which Hermione had made a beeline for, seeing the volumes upon volumes of books on every subject known to man.
She was interrupted from her grand tour when a large grey owl tapped on the lounge window, demanding to be let in, opening the window; Hermione grabbed the owl and its letter before it could escape again. By the stamp on the envelope, Hermione could see it was from the hospital.
Dear Miss Granger
Welcome to Australia, we hope you had a comfortable journey and find the flat to your satisfaction? We were hoping that you would be able to pop in later today to be shown around and get to grips with your duties. Sorry to be so quick-on-the-ball, but one of our Clinical Trial Healers has come down with a severe case of Wizarding Flu and will be off sick for the foreseeable future. Therefore we must get you started as soon as possible.
Thank you, I look forward to meeting you,
Yours,
Mark Smythe,
Head Healer, Melbourne District Wizarding Hospital
Folding up the letter and replacing it in the envelope, Hermione gazed around the flat, there would be no point in unpacking everything now when she would have to disappear soon, so flicking her wand, she cast a spell on her luggage in her coat pocket, and expanded it to its normal size along with the furniture around her.
By the time she had freshened up and had a bit of lunch, Hermione decided to make an appearance at the Hospital and meet her co-workers. Apparating into the main lobby of the large Hospital complex, she was directed by the receptionist to the 5th floor where she was greeted by Mark.
"Miss Granger, I presume, how are you, was your journey ok?" Mark asked in a cheery tone.
"Hello, pleased to meet you, please call me Hermione, I didn't realise just how big this hospital was, is it the main one in the region?" Hermione asked, awestruck by the size of the department, which stretched for nearly a quarter of a mile along a long corridor.
"Yes it's the biggest in this part of the country, would you like a tour?"
Mark began showing Hermione around, meeting the Nursing staff, some of the patients and even some of the other Healers working on the Clinical trials. She noticed Isolation rooms at one end of the Corridor. Seeing her quizzical stare Mark explained
"That is where the Trial patients are, they are kept away from the other patients instead of any cross-contamination of spells or magic."
"How long do the trials last, are they in those rooms the whole time?" Hermione asked a little shocked at the intensity of the trails
"The trials can last for years, our longest one at the moment is nearly 6 years, that's quite a sad case, but you'll get to know all about it tomorrow, your going to be in charge of that case. They are allowed out of the room, but only if they are chaperoned by a member of staff."
The department tour had taken nearly two hours and Hermione was feeling quite tired now the jet lag had begun to set in.
"There is just one thing I would like to see before tomorrow, if it's at all possible?" Hermione enquired with an air of curiosity
"Well anything, name it" Mark beamed.
"I know I'm not officially starting until tomorrow but could I see the Trial patient? Just to get a feel of what I'm dealing with, and enable me to understand his notes better?" Hermione explained.
"Why of course, that would be fine. His name is Peter, well we call him Peter anyway, we unfortunately don't know his real name, he has amnesia you see, come on I'll take you to his room." Mark indicated to a side room where the door was slightly on a jar.
"I'll leave you to it" said Mark as he walked back down the corridor towards his office.
Opening the door, Hermione knocked gently and entered, talking as she went
"Good-afternoon, I'm Hermione Granger, I'm the new Healer taking over the Trials, I'll be your healer from now on, Peter isn't it, Well Peter it's nice to meet you…" All of this was said, while she was reading the drug chart at the end of the bed, looking up to the man staring out of the window, she measured him up, quite tall, around 6'2" an athletic build, but not too muscle and shaggy flame red hair which was standing up in all directions. She was about to say more when she was startled as the man turned around revealing a pair of deep blue eyes which Hermione had always felt she could drown in.
He He, aren't I cruel to leave it there! If you want more then you have to review!!!