Chapter 64
Dear Meredith,
I'm sure you know by now that Harry survived the second task and is now in second place in the tournament. Ron is driving me crazy with his tall tales of how he fought off the merpeople who kidnapped him singlehandedly. Yeah right. Dumbledore put us all into hibernation in his office and we were levitated down to the lake.
Rita Skeeter is up to her old tricks again. I'm sure you've seen her latest article of how I broke poor Harry's tender little heart by dumping him for Viktor. You wouldn't happen to know a good remedy for undiluted bubotuber puss would you? Madam Pomphrey managed to stop the burning but she says there's nothing to be done for the itching except wait for it to go away. That awful woman is gonna get what's coming to her though. I have a theory about how she's managed to get all this information and if I'm right, oh ho, is she in for it.
We saw Snuffles the other day at Hogsmeade. He's taking a huge risk being here, but he assured us that no one will recognize him. He told us some pretty awful things about Bartemius Crouch, particularly as it pertains to his son. I can well believe it, considering how he treated poor Winky. Winky has been working here in the kitchens since Crouch sacked her, and she hasn't been taking it well. Butterbeer is apparently very strong for a house elf. Of course the other house elves don't show her any sympathy. The poor things have been completely brainwashed into thinking that they have the most wonderful jobs in the world.
Snuffles is worried, I can tell. Crouch's mysterious illness, Bertha Jorkins's disappearance, it's all just too strange. Ron wrote to Percy to ask him about Crouch, but Percy claims he has no idea. I will be so happy when this whole tournament is over and done with.
'As will we all Hermione,' Meredith thought as she folded up the younger girl's letter. They had all been so relieved when Harry had written about the second task, but Crouch not turning up to judge had Sirius very concerned. He had insisted that he should be nearby for the rest of the Tournament. Meredith didn't like the idea of Sirius living in a cave and sent him regular care packages. Remus and Sirius had told her about Bartemius Crouch. How he had thrown Sirius in Azkaban without a trial and had his own son sent there. This was the man Percy, who she had once called one of her closest friends, thought was the perfect example of what a wizard ought to be. She supposed it shouldn't surprise her. It had been a long time since she had really considered Percy a friend. She had not had so much as a letter from him in months. If Oliver, one of the worst when it came to correspondence, could write to her once a month from half way around the world, one would think that Percy who lived right here in England…well, people changed and not always for the better. She glanced up as Parminda plopped down on the bench next to her.
"Staff meeting in ten minutes out in the main corridor," Parminda said slipping off her shoes and stuffing them in her cubby.
"All of us?" Meredith said setting Hermione's letter in her cubby.
"All hands on deck," Parminda said. "I don't know what it's about but Rosenbaum's nashing her teeth more than usual." Meredith closed her locker and magiced her hair into a long braid. She waited for Parminda to finish dressing and they headed to the main corridor together. Many of the staff had already gathered there.
"Healer Lupin, Healer Ganesh," they were greeted by Silvio Papadakis, a dark hair HIT from Greece who was in their year.
"Hey Silvio," Parminda greeted their fellow healer in training. "Any idea what's going on?"
"None at all," Silvio said. "But it doesn't look good." Meredith glanced up where David stood with Chief Healer Flanagan and the rest of the department heads. David looked as tense as she'd ever seen him.
"If I could have everyone's attention," Healer Flanagan said pointing his wand at his throat to amplify his voice.
"AS I AM SURE YOU ARE ALL AWARE, BARTEMIUS CROUCH, OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC HAS BEEN MISSING FROM HIS POST FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. THE MINISTRY IS VERY CONCERNED. WE ARE BEING ASKED BY THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC TO INFORM THEM IF MR. CROUCH COMES TO THIS HOSPITAL FOR TREATMENT. THAT IS ALL." Healer Flanagan removed his wand and everyone around Meredith started murmuring amongst themselves.
"That's what's got the heads so tense?" Silvio said incredulously. "What is this Bartemious Crouch a known felon or something?"
"He's an important man to the Ministry," Meredith said with a shrug. It was strange though. Why would the Ministry be looking for Crouch here? Why didn't they just go to the man's house? Unless they already had and he wasn't there, in which case…where was Crouch? She glanced over at David who was in a huddle with Flanagan. There was definitely more going on than Healer Flanagan was willing to say.
"Lupin, Ganesh!" Healer Rosenbaum yelled from across the room. "Rounds!" Meredith and Parminda said goodbye to Silvio and hurried off to rounds.
Meredith pulled off her robes in disgust and hopped into the shower. Her last patient's young son had thought it would be a funny trick to combine a dung bomb with a tea kettle. If that hadn't been bad enough the woman had also had a six month old infant who had been nauseated by the smell and had made her distaste known all over Meredith. Nailed her from head to toe. Apparently cleansing spells had no effect on a dung bomb vomit combo. She sighed as she leaned into the spray. Once she was clean again and smelling a great deal better she stepped out and dried off. She pulled her damp hair into a knot and pulled was pulling on fresh robes when David entered the locker room. He opened his locker with a slam. Meredith approached slowly and lay a gently hand on his shoulder.
"Hi," he said sinking down on the bench. She had never seen him looking so stressed. She moved behind him and started rubbing at the knots in his shoulders.
"Well, I know why I'm tired and cranky," she said focusing on a bad knot. "What's your excuse?" He sighed and leaned back against her.
"Oh it's the ministry," he said. "Trying to interfere in how we run things around here. It's nothing new. They've been trying to get their sticky paws on St. Mungoes long before I started working here. Now they want to station their people around the hospital for security." Meredith's hands tensed on David's shoulders. It was just like last year when the Ministry put Dementors at Hogwarts.
"Flanagan politely reminded Fudge this morning that St. Mungoes is a publicly funded institution and that we cooperate with the Ministry at our discretion. He then informed the Minister that St. Mungoes has their own security and that he would not allow Ministry personnel to interfere with our work here. Then he showed him the door."
"Good," Meredith said. "Do they honestly think we're hiding Barty Crouch?" David chuckled and patted her arm.
"Just politics sweetheart," he said. "Nothing you need to worry about right now." Meredith bit her lip. She didn't like this. If the Ministry was so concerned about Crouch that they were interfering at St. Mungoes than Sirius's concerns were not unfounded.
Meredith did a shrinking spell on the extra blankets she was sending to Sirius. The weather had been drier lately but the wind was making the nights very cold. She added a wedge of cheese, a loaf of bread and a thermos of hot tea. She placed a spell on the food to keep it fresh and the tea hot. In a smaller box she placed a vial of tarrow root and aloe along with a response to Hermione's last letter. She glanced up as Remus came in reading a letter. Meredith paused in her task to watch his face. He was tense.
"What is it?" she said. He wordlessly handed her the letter.
Dear Moony,
Something has happened that I cannot explain. The other champions and myself were shown the third task tonight. It's a maze. Apparently, they're going to put a whole bunch of things in the maze that we have to get past. Anyway, as I was headed back after Bagman showed us the maze Viktor Krum pulled me aside to talk to me about Hermione. That's when it happened. Barty Crouch appeared in the dark forest, mumbling and muttering like a mad man. One minute it was like he was talking to people who weren't there and then he was begging me to get Dumbledore. I left Krum with him and went to get Dumbledore, but by the time we got back Krum had been stunned and Crouch had vanished…
"Oh dear lord," Meredith said clapping a hand to her mouth. "That explains…"
"Meredith," Remus said concerned at how pale Meredith had suddenly become. Meredith swallowed hard and looked up at her dad.
"The Minister was at St. Mungoes yesterday. We're all supposed to report to the Ministry immediately if Mr. Crouch shows up for medical treatment." Remus sat down at the table and rubbed his eyes. Meredith came to the table and put her hand on his shoulder.
"You're worried," she said. It was not a question.
"Yes," Remus said. "These disappearances…this is just like it started last time." Meredith did not need him to explain what he meant by 'last time.' A sick nervous knot was beginning to form in her stomach. She jumped as there was a loud noise from the fireplace.
"Moony!" they heard Sirius's voice. "Moony are you there?" Remus stood up and Meredith followed him to the living room. Sirius's head was in the fireplace.
"Padfoot!" Remus cried kneeling down to look at his friend. "Where are you?"
"Eudora's letting me use her fireplace," Sirius said.
"Eudora?" Meredith asked settling to her knees. "The same Eudora I got my ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion from? Can you trust her?"
"Eudora won't turn me in," Sirius said. "The last thing she wants is the Ministry poking around her place."
"That's awful risky Sirius," Remus said. "If you get sent back to Azkaban…"
"You worry too much about me Moony. The one you should be worried about is Harry."
"I had a letter this morning," Remus said. "He told us about Crouch."
"What that boy could have been thinking going off with Krum in the dark…" Sirius muttered. "With all that's been happening…"
"You think Viktor Krum has something to do with Crouch vanishing?" Meredith asked.
"He was there wasn't he?"
"Harry said he'd been stunned," Meredith said.
"Or just pretending to be stunned," Sirius said.
"Let's not get focus on theories, Padfoot," Remus said calmly. "Let's just focus on what we know."
"All right," Sirius said. "Harry's scar hurting him after a dream about Voldemort and Wormtail. The dark mark at the World Cup. Crouch's house elf caught with Harry's wand. Bertha Jorkins, disappeared in Albania the last place Voldemort was rumored to be. Crouch, doesn't show up at the office for weeks than suddenly appears at Hogwarts and then vanishes without a trace. Dumbledore's been keeping me informed. He also said that a muggle named Frank Bryce was killed in the village where Voldemort's father lived. It hasn't been in the papers since it was a muggle."
"Does Dumbledore have any ideas?" Remus said.
"Theories," Sirius said. "Only theories. But he's worried. The last time I saw him like this Moony…" Sirius did not need to finish the sentence. Meredith felt light headed and sat all the way on the ground.
"Harry will be all right as long as Dumbledore around," Remus said. "Once the third task is over we can give these disappearances all our focus. We just need to keep Harry alive till then." Meredith took a deep breath.
"He said the third task was a maze," Meredith said carefully. "That there would be all sorts of beasts and creatures tossed at him."
"Harry's gone up against dark creatures before," Remus said. "Dementors, Basilisks, Dragons, Mermaids."
"Voldemort," Sirius said. "Who knows what they'll throw at him though." Meredith stood up and grabbed a quill and a sheet of parchment. She started writing down every defensive spell, jinx, curse and counter curse she could think of that might possibly help.
"What are you doing," Remus said.
"Harry's good at getting out of tight situations," Meredith said. "But the triwizard tournament was never meant for a fourteen year old."
"So what are you going to do about it," Sirius said.
"I'm sending this to Hermione," she said. "If anyone can learn these spells in a hurry and teach them to Harry it's Hermione. She's the brightest witch that I know." Remus and Sirius agreed and added a few of their own ideas to the list.
"I'll send this off right away," Meredith said heading for the kitchen. Sirius stared after her fondly from the fireplace.
"She loves him," he said turning to Remus. Remus nodded. If only things could have been different, he thought as he so often had in the past. He sighed and looked up at Sirius's image.
"Sirius," Remus said seriously. "Don't do anything foolish."
"What are you talking about Moony?"
"This risks you're taking as of late," Remus said. "Hanging around Hogsmeade, trusting Eudora…"
"I have to be close by," Sirius said. "I have to look out for Harry."
"Do you know what it would do to Harry if you were sent back to Azkaban? Do you know what it would do to Meredith?" Sirius scoffed.
"Meredith will be just fine. It's perfectly obvious she doesn't need me in her life."
"Sirius," Remus scolded. "You're her father."
"No," Sirius said. "You are Moony. I've got to go." Remus sighed as Sirius vanished from the fireplace. He stared toward the kitchen where Meredith was tying a small box to Bianca's leg. The large owl was looking at Meredith as though pleading with her not to make her go out in the wind.
"I know girl," Meredith said. "But Hermione needs to know all these spells so she can help Harry. And Sirius needs these blankets. He doesn't have feathers to keep him warm like you. Yes, he has fur when he's in dog form but he can't stay like that all the time. He needs us to look after him girl. He hasn't had anyone to take care of him in such a long time. I know he acts tough and all that but I think deep inside he really misses having a family. I know he loved my mother very much. I think she'd want me to look after him since she can't anymore. We're all he has girl. So can you do this for me?" The owl nipped her finger and stuck her leg out so Meredith could tie the care package to her leg. Remus's heart felt heavy.
"Oh Padfoot," he thought. "How can you not realize that Meredith loves you?"
She was surrounded by fog. She thrust her hands out trying to feel for something solid. She shrieked as she touched something sharp, pulling her hands back. They were covered in blood. She could see something through the fog.
"Hello!" she yelled. She ran through the fog trying to find whoever was out there. Her breath stopped as she saw the bodies. They stared up at her, their eyes wide with terror. Frozen in death. Her dad, Sirius, David, Harry, Hermione.
"No," she cried scalding hot tears falling down her face. Out of the shadows a dark snakelike creature crawled toward her.
"They will all die!" it hissed as it lunged at her.
"NO!" Meredith screamed as she shot up in bed. She clasped her hand over her heart and felt a pair of strong arms go around her.
"It's okay," David's voice said in her ear. "Just a nightmare." She wrapped her arms around his and laid her head against his heart.
"You were dead," she whispered. "You, my dad, everyone you were all dead."
"I'm here," he said holding her tighter. "I'm fine. It was just a dream." She looked around her. She was in David's bedroom. They'd come here last night after a twenty hour surgery repairing the damage to a man's lungs from inhaling a lethal poison. Her dad was working late and she hadn't wanted to be alone. They had both been exhausted and fallen asleep together, still fully dressed. She reached up and ran a hand over her eyes.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"4 am," David said. "Come lay back down." She lay back down and turned on her side. David pressed up against her back and slid his arm around her waist. Meredith closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She hadn't had such terrible nightmares since last year before all the stuff with Sirius, and the time turners and the dementors. Those dreams had been like a warning of things to come. She hoped that was not the case this time, not with the third task just a short week away She took David's arm and pulled him closer to her. She sighed as she felt him kiss her cheek.
"Just go back to sleep sweet heart," he said. "I'm not going anywhere."
The next morning Meredith was practically sleep walking through her rounds.
"Late night last night?" Parminda said with a wink.
"I wish there was something to wink about," Meredith said yawning. "Nightmares."
"Ah," Parminda said. Meredith had a feeling she didn't believe her. "Well you're not alone in the saggy eyes department. Finding an open on call room last night was nearly impossible."
"Oh really," Meredith said. It was probably the worst kept secret in the hospital that the on call rooms were often used for activities other than sleep. She couldn't comment really. She and David had had a few encounters in there, particularly after a long shift.
"Yeah, if you want a nap later make sure you do a sterilizing spell first," Parminda said wrinkling her nose.
"Gross," Meredith said pulling open her cubby. An official looking envelope with the Hogwarts stamp on it sat there. She opened it immediately. It was Dumbledore's handwriting.
"Dear Meredith,
As I am sure you are aware the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament will take place at dusk next Friday on the 24th of June. It is a tradition to invite the champions loved ones to be present for the final task. As it would be impossible for Snuffles to attend and as there will be a full moon that night I would like to invite you to Hogwarts to lend your support to Harry. I have also extended this invitation to Molly and Arthur Weasley. I feel it very important that Harry have all the support he can get. If you are able to attend please send your response immediately.
Yours sincerely,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Meredith read over the invitation again. June 24th. She went to the schedule board on the wall. She would be on shift until 3:30. It would be tight but she could make it work. For Harry she would make it work.
"Have you got a quill," she asked Parminda.
"Yeah sure," Parminda said absently handing it to her. Meredith turned over the invitation and wrote an affirmative on the back. She tucked it into the return envelope and stuck it into her cubby. She'd have to make sure to get it into the mail tonight. They stepped out of the locker room and were immediately set to work. All manner of suspicious injuries came in that day from a man who'd bought an antique trunk that had released Wart Cap powder right into his face which now looked like a brown leather baseball glove; to the woman who had several small punctures from a spider screw to the boy with a bite from the flesh eating slug.
"Did all of Knockturn Alley decide to turn up at our door today?" Meredith said to Rosenbaum as she mended a large cut on a young girl's arm, and applying a balm.
"Looks that way," Rosenbaum said. Her Third year was tending to a woman who had been burned by her husband's Hand of Glory. All of a sudden a blonde HIT with a french accent dashed over to them.
"Lupin, Rosenbaum," she shouted dashing away. "We need you in trauma." Meredith grabbed up her wand and followed the blonde. When she arrived she found David and Healer Bloomton leaning over a young man who was convulsing. Rosenbaum arrived and they hurried to assist. Meredith gasped when she saw that in addition to the convulsions the young man's chest looked as though it had been burned to ash and the fire was slowly spreading.
"What do you need?" Rosenbaum said.
"Hold him down," Bloomton said. The other trauma healer had her wand out and was running it over the wound. Meredith stepped forward and pressed hard pinning the man's arms to the gurney as sparks flew from Bloomton's wand.
"He's come in contact with an object with a dark curse on it," Bloomton continued. "I've never seen anything like this."
"I don't know how he found it!" the young woman who had come in with the young man was wailing. "Mother said never to touch it."
"What did he come in contact with?" David yelled at the women. The women was sobbing now.
"It was an old medallion. It belonged to my grandfather," the woman whispered.
"Who was your grandfather?" The woman was crying too hard to answer. David seized her by the shoulders.
"WHO WAS YOUR GRANDFATHER!"he shouted in the woman's face, startling Meredith. The woman opened her tear filled eyes.
"Heinrich Gergestan ,"she whispered. Meredith was stunned to see the terror fill David's eyes. He released the woman and shoved Bloomton's wand away.
"This is no ordinary dark curse," David hissed. "We're dealing with a horcrux." Bloomton and Rosenbaum both jerked back from the patient as though he had burned them.
"Do you have the object?" David snapped at the woman.
"No I left it on the floor after I yanked it off him."
"Rosenbaum, get this woman's address and contact the ministry. Tell them we have a horcrux that needs to be contained."
"Yes sir," Rosenbaum said escorting the woman out.
"It's spreading too fast," Bloomton said looking at the man's chest. "There's nothing more we can do for him."
"Yes there is," David said raising his wand. Bloomton's eyes widened.
"David, no," she said. "It's too late." David glared.
"I'm saving him Alice!" he snapped. "Either help me or leave." Bloomton shot him a look of disgust and walked out of the room. David turned to her.
"What about you?" Meredith had no idea what was going on. What the hell was a horcrux? All she knew was that this man was dying and if David could save him she was going to help him.
"I'm staying," she said. David lay the tip of his wand over the man's chest.
"Keep holding him down," David said. "No matter what happens or what you see you do not let go." Meredith nodded. She watched as David took a deep breath and began to chant quietly. The spell was not one she had ever heard and the language was strange. David's eyes rolled back in his head and he seemed to go into a trance of some sort. The tip of his wand glowed white and engulfed the man's body. Meredith's eyes widened in astonishment as the black charred skin began to shrink away slowly. David's eyes opened but he did not see her, the room or anything. It was as though he was in a different state of awareness. Meredith stood by his side for hours as she watched David push the curse out of and away from the man. When at last the last traces of the curse were gone David seemed to come back to himself.
"David!" Meredith jumped up and grabbed him as he swayed dangerously.
"Help me to a chair," he muttered. Meredith did as she was told helping him to a chair and pushing his head down between his knees.
"I'll be all right in a minute," he said. "Check on the patient." Meredith was not so sure of David's self diagnosis, for her boyfriend was dangerously pale. But she did as she was told and ran her wand over the patient scanning him for dark spells or curses. She was astonished when her wand did not brighten.
"There's no trace of dark magic," she said in shock. David nodded.
"He'll be all right in a few days," David said. "Get him up to spell damage." Meredith nodded and waved her wand to levitate the gurney. She turned back to look at David but he waved her off.
"I'll be fine," he assured her. Meredith levitated the man up to the spell damage floor and explained what had happened to the Healer in Charge who looked shocked when he saw that the man was alive with no trace of dark magic. Meredith left the spell damage floor and ran into Healer Bloomton.
"How's the patient?" Bloomton asked her. Meredith frowned at the older healer. She was a little unhappy with the woman who had just walked out of the room leaving the patient to die.
"He'll be fine," Meredith said confidently. Bloomton gave the same surprised expression that the Healer in Charge of spell damage had.
"And Healer Nieman?"
"He'll be fine," Meredith said, though slightly less confident. Healer Bloomton looked relieved.
"Healer Bloomton," Meredith said, screwing her courage. "Why did you just leave that man?" Rather than getting angry that a first year HIT was questioning her, Healer Bloomton just looked at her thoughtfully.
"Do you know what a horcrux is Healer Lupin?" Meredith shook her head.
"Not surprising," Bloomton said. "It's a banned subject at Hogwarts. I'd never heard of them either till I did my first year rotation on the spell damage floor. Rumor has it that Dumbledore had all the books that even mentioned the subject removed from the restricted section."
"You went to Hogwarts?" Meredith asked. Bloomton nodded.
"Ravenclaw," she said. "A horcrux is an object which a person conceals part of their soul, so that if their body is destroyed they will not die." Meredith's eyes widened.
"My god," she said. "How do you conceal part of your soul?"
"I don't know," Bloomton said. "Like I said it's not a widely discussed topic. I just know that in order to do it one has to tear their soul by committing a great act of evil."
"You mean…" Meredith felt her blood go cold.
"Murder," Bloomton said gravely. "Cold blooded murder. According to the young lady who came in with our patient, her grandfather has been in Verbeche prison for the last twenty years for murdering a muggle. That would be the Germans version of Azkaban."
"David must have recognized the name," Meredith said thoughtfully.
"Her grandfather had concealed part of his soul in a medallion. And when her boyfriend put it on the dark magic that was inside…" Meredith shuddered.
"I've only seen one other case in the eleven years that I've been here. The man died and the healer that tried to cast the dark magic out of him was hospitalized himself. The dark magic it takes to make a horcrux is about as dark as it gets." Meredith bit her lip hard remembering how pale David had looked.
"Healer Nieman should recover with no ill effects," Bloomton said at Meredith's tense look. "The other healer was in his seventies when he tried to cast out the dark magic. David's young and healthy." Meredith nodded.
"I should get back to work she said weakly. She left healer Bloomton and headed to the locker room to take a hot shower. She suddenly felt very, very cold.