Poppy sighed as she pulled the heavy infirmary blanket up just a bit higher along his thin sleeping form. It had taken almost four hours, but every injury, every malady had been corrected, and, for the first time in what she assumed was an eternity if the dark circles under his eyes were any indication, he was sleeping peacefully. Poppy watched the shallow but steady rise and fall of his chest as the firelight played across his face, casting shadows that seemed to match his mood so exactly. She reached out and brushed aside a small lock of snow white hair from his weathered face that now showed every one of his years, smiled in a motherly fashion, before leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss against his forehead. He would sleep through what remained of the night and most of the next morning, she had made sure of that, and now she had other business that required her full attention. "Sleep well Albus," she whispered, extinguishing the lamps surrounding his bed before turning and heading into her office.
Closing the door quietly behind her, Poppy let out a frustrated growl. It had been six years, and while she knew he had been suffering, she had never imaged it to be quite like this. She sat back and watched as the twinkle in his eyes diminished before disappearing all together. She sat back while he pulled away from his friends and colleagues. She even sat by and watched him pull away from the students. But, she couldn't sit back anymore. Simply, Albus was like a father to her. He had been there for her when her own family had been murdered during the war with Grindelwald. That madman also seemed to have a fascination with pureblood, and her family had the misfortune to be muggles.
He had offered her a sympathetic ear and a dry shoulder, but he wouldn't allow her to wallow in self pity. "Life is meant to be lived Poppy," he had said. "You shouldn't squander it on what should have been." Poppy let out an unlady like snort. 'Seems to have forgotten,' she thought. This thought did nothing to help her already frayed nerves. There was nothing she wanted to do more than to forgo procedure, and to hell with decency, but she knew she couldn't. There was still one more duty she had to perform before she could retire for the evening, and she wanted none of it.
Resolved but weary, she sat down behind her practical maple desk and reached for a fresh piece of parchment. It was a letter that had to be written, but that didn't mean she had to be gentle. No, they never said that during healer training. Letting all of her anger swell and crash within her, Poppy began to write.
The sky was a grey that no word could adequately describe, and the smell of salt sat heavy in the air as waves crashed against the jagged rocks below. 'Another wonderful day,' Minerva thought bitterly, looking out the small window of her two story cottage. Sighing, she placed the last of the plates in its cabinet before closing the door and walking into her library. The last six years had been difficult for the witch, and it showed. New lines decorated her face, her once proud shoulders were perpetually slumped, and her once raven black hair was now lightly streaked with white. But, it was the constant and never ending numbness that consumed her that did the most damage. 'Just like the Tin Man,' she mused, fingering the worn spine of her favorite copy of the muggle novel. 'Only the wizard took the heart back.' No tears came as she thought of the wizard who had first stolen then destroyed her heart. They had been shed long ago, but the insuppressible ache still existed.
Sighing, she dropped the book back on the small end table and got up, heading to the desk facing the wall. She needed to start the next chapter of her textbook soon if she was going to meet her deadline. The sixth years text was almost complete; she only had to finish the various human transformations before it could be sent to the publisher for a final review. It was still teaching, she reasoned with herself, in its own way. Even if she could never step into a classroom that wasn't settled in a remote part of Scotland, at least she could still help her students. She couldn't fail them as well. She worked through the morning, never taking notice of the changing sky, or the birds making their homes in her eves.
It wasn't until well after lunch that she was unpleasantly interrupted. A quick burst of flame erupted in front of her, setting the edge of her notes alight. Fawkes cooed his apology as she hurried to extinguish the flames. "Hello Fawkes," she said, reaching into her desk for the bag of treats she kept specifically for him. "You have another letter for me hmm," she said, putting the treats on the desk. She was surprised when he simply stared at her and held out his leg. His beady eyes seemed intent and penetrating, much like his masters. "Why does he insist," she asked mostly to herself, "isn't all this enough?" Once a week, usually a Wednesday, every week since she had left, Fawkes would appear with a letter from him. She had read the first, but his single question of why had ended the practice. Now, she simply put them in the chest in her attic, unopened, but never forgotten. There had also been letters from the other staff, but those too had joined the pile. Trying to explain would have hurt too much.
Minerva was snapped out of her thoughts when she realized that Fawkes was still there. "He's probably missing you my friend. You should head home before he starts to worry." To her surprise, the phoenix seemed to actually shake his head and point with his head to the letter. Looking down, Minerva saw not Albus' loopy writing, but the practical scrawl that could only come from Poppy. For a reason that seemed to hover just out of reach, Minerva's heart stopped before it began to pound behind her ribs. Perhaps it wasn't the letter itself that caused such a reaction, but the way it was addressed, Mrs. Minerva Dumbledore. Her hands began to shake as she turned over the envelope, breaking the seal. Her eyes grew larger and her breath hitched as her eyes traveled over the parchment.
Mrs. Dumbledore,
It is my duty to inform you that your husband, Albus Dumbledore, was admitted to the hospital wing of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry at 10:45 last evening. His condition is now stable, but, should you actually care, the damage was extensive.
I have been assured that you will receive this missive, but if you actually read it or not, I can only guess. I, like everyone else, don't know the reasons for your departure, and at this time, I don't care. The only thing that matters at this moment is the man sleeping in my ward, and the fact that he was so delirious with fever that he spent an hour calling your name into the darkness. I can only conclude that, for some unfathomable reason, he still loves you. I can only assume, like the others, that this letter will go unanswered, but I have done what I must. Now, I must return. Someone has to care for your husband.
Poppy Pomphrey
Mediwitch, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Minerva sat, frozen, in her chair. Albus had been hurt, and if Poppy had sent out a notification, it would have had to be serious. A part of Minerva had to admit she was surprised by the harsh tone of Poppy's words. They had been good friends , and she of all people should have understood why she needed to leave when Albus began prancing around like the playboy of the western world with his new secretary. 'What could he have told them when I left,' she wondered to herself. Her eyes darted up, along with her temper, and came face to face with the waiting phoenix. "What has been going on Fawkes?" Her voice was low and her eyes burned with a fire that made the bird envious. He simply crooked his head to the side and let out a small squawk before turning his back to her. To Minerva's eternal surprise he began to shake his tail feathers in her face, his red plumage obscuring everything else.
For six years she had hidden herself away, run like a scared child. The time for running was over. If he wanted a confrontation, then she would give him one. Before she could change her mind, Minerva summoned her cloak, pocketed her wand, and grabbed a hold of Fawkes tail. It was time to return to Hogwarts.